I Wish You Were Mine by Lauren Layne Series: Oxford,
Published by Loveswept Publication Date: February 2nd 2016
Pages: 260
Also in this series: Someone like You, I Knew You Were Trouble, I Think I Love You
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Perfect for fans of Alice Clayton and Emma Chase, Lauren Layne’s Oxford series heats up in this story of forbidden desire as a brooding jock hoping for a comeback falls for a woman who’s strictly off-limits.
A year ago, Jackson Burke was married to the love of his life and playing quarterback for the Texas Redhawks. Now he’s retired, courtesy of the car accident that ruined his career—and single, after a nasty scandal torpedoed his marriage. Just as he’s starting to get used to his new life as a health and fitness columnist for Oxford magazine, his unpredictable ex shows up on his doorstep in Manhattan. Jackson should be thrilled. But he can’t stop thinking about the one person who’s always been there for him, the one girl he could never have: her younger sister.
Mollie Carrington can’t say no to Madison. After all, her older sister practically raised her. So when Madison begs for help in winning her ex-husband back, Mollie’s just glad she got over her own crush on Jackson ages ago—or so she thought. Because as Mollie reconnects with Jackson, she quickly forgets all her reasons to stay loyal to her sister. Tempted by Jackson’s mellow drawl and cowboy good looks, Mollie is sick and tired of coming in second place. But she can’t win if she doesn’t play the game.
Cocktails and Books received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
I WISH YOU WERE MINE is emotional and captivating, with unforgettable characters and explosive chemistry. It is a story about Jackson Burke; a successful NFL quarterback, until an injury ends his career. While Jackson is recuperating from his injury and trying to come to terms with never playing football again, his wife Madison divorces him. Now Jackson is trying to move forward with his life. Madison’s younger sister Mollie has always been Jackson’s best friend and confidante and for years, she has secretly had a crush on him. When Jackson accepts a job offer in New York with Oxford magazine, he and Mollie start spending time together and find it difficult to ignore the sizzling sexual tension between them.
Mollie was an awkward geek growing up but now she is a smart, sweet, beautiful woman and I liked everything about her. She has always idolized and cared about Jackson but has settled for friendship because he was married to her sister. Mollie is the total opposite from her scheming older sister, Madison who is constantly trying to interfere in Mollie’s life.
Jackson has always liked Mollie, but for the first time, he sees her as a grown up beautiful woman and he isn’t sure what to do with his feelings. Jackson is a good guy but unsure about what he wants and he is still reeling from how quickly his life has fallen apart. He is trying to start over in New York, but all he really wants is to go back to his life in Texas and playing football. Jackson is confused about many things, including Mollie. Mollie knows what she wants but it takes Jackson a while to figure things out. While I liked Jackson, and know he is going through a lot of changes, I thought he was self-absorbed and wishy-washy. At times, I wanted to shake him and say wake up, Mollie is what you need. Jackson is so caught up in mourning his past he doesn’t see all the wonderful things he has right now. He is a nice guy who made a bad decision by marrying a selfish woman and the wrong sister. His ex-wife, Madison is such a conniving, self-centered person I wondered what Jackson ever saw in her and why the heck he stayed married to her.
I could feel the intense feelings Jackson and Mollie have for one another and how they struggle with doing the right thing. This is kind of a love triangle and has the forbidden love angle to it, too. This story has many engaging secondary characters and all their bantering had me laughing out loud. They are a fun-loving group of friends who enjoy giving each other a hard time but they also have each other’s back. They helped give this emotional story a lighter feel and I loved how they never gave up on Jackson and let him know they were there for him. This is the second book in the Oxford series and each book is a stand-alone, although the characters are all interconnected. I was immediately immersed in this well-written story, filled with realistic characters and I can’t wait to read more books in this series.
